By Masaki Kondo Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Japan’s mining stocks slumped as oil headed for its worst month in 22 years. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. led brokerages higher on speculation the sale of its Sanyo Electric Co. stake will boost its financial health. Inpex Corp., Japan’s No. 1 oil explorer, dived 6.7 percent while rival Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. sank 2.2 percent as crude headed for a 22 percent drop this week. Daiwa, the nation’s second-largest brokerage, surged 8 percent and market leader Nomura Holdings Inc. jumped 5.7 percent. Elpida Memory Inc., Japan’s largest maker of computer-memory chips, soared 15 percent after memory prices rose for the first time in six months. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 36.22, or 0.4 percent, to 8,631.01 as of 12:39 p.m. in Tokyo, set for a 4.8 percent weekly gain. The broader Topix index dropped 0.22, or less than 0.1 percent, to 838.47, with more than two stocks retreating for each that rose. The Topix added 3.1 percent on the week. “The continuous decline in oil is convincing investors that the economic outlook is bleak,” said Hideo Arimura, who oversees about $1.9 billion at Mizuho Asset Management Co. The Nikkei is set to lose 44 percent in 2008, its worst year on record, as Japan and the world’s biggest economies fell into recession. The government has announced three stimulus plans since August to jumpstart the economy, and today pledged to buy shares held by banks to save them from further writedowns. The Bank of Japan may cut benchmark rates today for the second time this year, following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s reduction of rates to a record low this week. Stake Sale Slumping demand created a glut of oil, driving prices down 75 percent from a record $147.27 on July 11. Crude oil for January delivery declined 9.6 percent to $36.22 a barrel in New York yesterday, the lowest settlement since June 2004 and set for the biggest monthly drop since 1986. Inpex dived 6.7 percent to 581,000 yen, making it the second-biggest loser on the Nikkei. Japan Petroleum sank 2.2 percent to 3,610 yen. A gauge of mining companies posted the steepest dive among 33 industry groups on the Topix. Daiwa surged 8 percent to 511 yen, set for its biggest leap since Nov. 25, while Nomura climbed 5.7 percent to 703 yen. Brokerages as a group were the biggest winners on the Topix. Panasonic Corp., which plans to buy Sanyo stakes held by Daiwa, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., will pay 131 yen a share, two people familiar with the matter said. If Daiwa sells its Sanyo preferred shares, the brokerage will book a pretax gain of 109 billion yen ($1.22 billion), boosting its book value by 8.4 percent, Goldman Sachs analyst Takehito Yamanaka wrote in a note to clients today. DRAM, BOJ Elpida soared 15 percent to 494 yen, set for the highest close since Nov. 12. Prices of the benchmark DRAM chip rose 12 percent yesterday, the first increase since June, according to Dramexchange Technology Inc., Asia’s biggest chip spot market. The Bank of Japan will conclude its two-day policy meeting today. Jiji Press and the Mainichi newspaper said Japan’s central bank is likely to leave its interest rate unchanged, while traders see a 50 percent chance the BOJ will cut borrowing costs from 0.3 percent, according to calculations by JPMorgan Chase & Co. using overnight interest-rate swaps. Nikkei futures expiring in March dipped 0.2 percent to 8,640 in Osaka and slipped 0.2 percent to 8,645 in Singapore. To contact the reporters for this story: Masaki Kondo in Tokyo at mkondo3@bloomberg.net.

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